2009 Dakar Rally
| 2009 Dakar Rally | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Host country | Argentina Chile | ||
| Results | |||
| Cars winner | Giniel de Villiers Dirk von Zitzewitz Volkswagen | ||
| Bikes winner | Marc Coma KTM | ||
| Quads winner | Josef Macháček Yamaha | ||
| Trucks winner | Firdaus Kabirov Aydar Belyaev Andrey Mokeev Kamaz | ||
The 2009 Dakar Rally was the 31st running of the Dakar Rally. The race began on 3 January 2009, and took place across Argentina and Chile. The rally was for the first time to take place outside of Europe and Africa as the location was changed by organizers due to concerns about possible terrorist attacks that resulted in the cancellation of the 2008 edition In addition to motorcycle, automobile, and truck categories, a separate quad (all-terrain vehicle) class was added for the first time (previously a subdivision of the motorbike category).
Étienne Lavigne, the race director of the rally, first announced the new race location in February 2008 around the same time as the replacement Central Europe Rally was held for competitors. He said, "Dakar competitors are going to discover new territory, new scenery, but with the same spirit of competition and adventure, with very hard stages."